Tantrums and Tune Outs: Grad School Week One

A few weeks ago, I shared with you guys that I had made the insane decision to complete my Master’s Degree this year.  I say insane because there is really no other way to describe it. I mean, I have 2 kids under the age of 4, a full time job, a blogging business, and other real life responsibilities to keep up with – Really, who does this?  I try to remind myself of my reasons for doing this.  I know that this degree will do at least 1 of 2 things for me – increase my earning potential should I decide to stay in corporate America, or get me better equipped to run my own business.  (I would most likely want to do something to the marketing consulting capacity since that’s what my degree will be in).

Anyway, so day 1 of orientation was last Saturday.  It was just so great and motivating.  We got to do all of those fun personality tests and my study group marveled in how much we had in common and what a great year this would be. I was beaming with that “Can Do” spirit.   Day 2 was the complete opposite. Speech after speech about how hard it’s gonna be and how many sacrifices we’ll have to make: no social life…studying all of the time…no sleep…and so on.  We learned that we can only pass with a 3.0 – talk about pressure! Then I met one of my Professors and I swear he looked at me like I was the biggest idiot every time I answered a question. Just great!

I came home that day totally spent!  I picked a completely unwarranted fight with the hubby – classic case of misdirected aggression – and 30 minutes later, cried on him like a baby.  Yes, it really was that dramatic!  I was feeling like I’d made the worst decision of my life…and classes hadn’t even started yet!  Fortunately, after letting it all out, I was refreshed again, ready to take on this challenge and determined that I was not the first or the last to do this.  Sometimes, a good tantrum is all you need.

So classes have started and while that one professor is still not a fan, my other one reminds me of why I love marketing and business. It’s tough, but I will say it’s a damn good thing I made the decision to stick with it already because in comes a call from my mother today. I tell her I’m spending my day off studying and she says, “I  heard from so and so that that program is really tough to do, especially when you’re working too.  What would happen if you just decided to quit and finish next year?”  REALLY, Mom?  Only my family!